UConn Falls Into 14-point Hole, Then South Florida

The Huskies were 14-0 with 3 minutes, 24 seconds left in the first quarter with the first score coming on, you guessed it, a turnover, when quarterback Chandler Whitmer (6 of 10, 88 yards 1 touchdown) was hit and on a second-and 17 on the Huskies first possession. Chris Dunkley had the hit and recovered the fumble at the UConn 19. Four players later Marlon Mack (31x103 TD) was in the box from a

“Again, no way to start a game,” UConn Coach Bob Diaco said. “Hostile territory, on the road, Inclement weather, all the challenges, all the adversity and the youth and inexperience and beginnings of our program continue to show themselves as victimizing moments right now in terms of winning and losing. You start the game and after a few short minutes its 14-0.

“We still are not executing on offense right now. And it's much harder to operate and execute on offense at the beginnings of your program. We have a lot of immature players there and we did things throughout the game and in the beginning in particular that are losing. They create losing. You can't start winning until you stop losing so that was a hallmark of the game tonight.”

Said Whitmer “We have to redirect on that; the back has to redirect on that. We just didn't see it. They hadn't game-planned that before, never shown it and they did a good job, got us on that one. Tough rainy day out there.

The Bulls scored on the next time they got the ball, too.

Quarterback Mike White (10 of 18, 113 yards 1 TD), found Rodney Adams for a near wide-open touchdown on 4th and 10 from 30 yards.

The UConn defense held after that although it allowed 271 yards total to the Bulls who also got off 71 plays and controlled the time of possession, obviously, too (39:03).

The Huskies didn’t convert a third down (0-9) in this one while the Bulls were 7 of 16. The lone offense touchdown came with 1:19 to seconds to go. Whitmer hit Davis with his only catch of the game, a 32-yard with 1:19 to play. The Huskies marched 75 yards in four plays.

Wonder why the Huskies didn’t throw more?

“It was a just hard...I don't want to take any more negative plays,” Diaco said of his team that came into the game leading the FBS in that category with 32. So at the beginning of the game each time we dropped back to pass he's under duress, sack, errant balls on the run, negative plays. I want to get the ball back to the line of scrimmage.”

Diaco said Boyle was fine to play.

“He was not unavailable. He’s cleared to play. He’s hobbled with a lower leg. Not an injury but a lower leg pain. He was cleared for participation. It wouldn’t have been prudent [to play him] under those circumstances.